Over 1.5 tonnes of drugs seized off Sihanoukville, 5 arrested

Buth Reaksmey Kongkea 

The anti-drug police force emerged successful in yet another major crackdown conducted on January 20 midnight. 

In the Monday midnight major drug overhaul, the police in the Anti-Drug Department of the Ministry of Interior, in coordination with Preah Sihanouk provincial anti-drug police and maritime police, seized more than 1.56 tonnes of narcotics off Sihanoukville from five suspects, comprising two Chinese, two Taiwanese and a Filipino. 

Lieutenant General Khoeng Sarath, Chief of Anti-Drug Department in the Ministry of Interior, told a press conference yesterday that the arrests in Preah Sihanouk province were made at about 3 am on Monday midnight on two speedboats parked in the middle of the sea in the province’s Stung Hav district. 



The another crackdown on Monday was carried out around the same time along the Laos border in Preah Vihear province and the anti-drug police nabbed three men involved in trafficking of 1,020 kilogrammes of methamphetamine. 

Explaining the arrests in Preah Sihanouk, Lt Gen Sarath said, “Our anti-drug police officers had spent almost a year in researching and following the suspects’ activities to make this largest drug crackdown to happen. Police followed their activities from Phnom Penh to Preah Sihanouk province.” 

He said that the police also seized a total of 67 sacks of ketamine and methamphetamine (or ice), totally weighing 1,566 kilogrammes, two speedboats, two wooden boats, one motorbike, five mobile phones, two passports and other related materials from them. 

“The police in the anti-drug department in the Ministry of Interior had cracked down on many drug trafficking cases. But this is the biggest case that the police had handled so far this year,” Lt Gen Sarath told the press conference yesterday.




 Lt Gen Sarath added that the five suspects are being temporarily detained at the Anti-Drug Department in the Ministry of Interior for questioning and further investigation. On completion of the investigation, they will be sent to the court to charge sheet them. 

He added that the five suspects were arrested for transporting the drugs from Thailand and attempting to smuggle it into Sihanoukville by sea and the amount of drugs seized is the largest so far this year. 

According to the police report, the Chinese were identified as Shi Yuan and Huang Xiao Yu, while the Taiwanese were Li Zhong and Huang Zhi Hong, and the Filipino was named Luo Shun. 

If found guilty, the suspects will be charged with “drug possession, transport and trafficking” and each face a jail term up to life sentence. 

The two simultaneous raids helped the authorities to bust drug smugglers trying to find a safe haven for their illegal activities in the country and stop more than two tonnes of meth being circulated in the country.

 

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